


Bittersweet

by agentz123



Series: Who is Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera? [3]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Canon Characters of Color, Gen, Loss of Innocence, Racism, Rated M for language, Slurs, Strong Language, The Struggles of Bilingualism, The World We Live In, aged-down characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:46:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27755584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentz123/pseuds/agentz123
Summary: The Cabreras run into some trouble at the ice cream shop.
Relationships: M'ma Cabrera & Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera
Series: Who is Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030281
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the language in this chapter but a lot of stuff goes on in the lives of people like me everyday (something similar just happened, in fact) that I just feel compelled to write about it and share it. Don't be racist, kids.
> 
> Also, I have no idea where this family is from. I looked it up and M'ma's VA is of Cuban and Dominican descent.

“ _¿Qué sabor del helado quieres, pollito?_ "

“ _¡Quieres uno de frutilla!_ ”

Valeria smiled down at him, his excitement contagious, even though she was more of a doughnut gal herself. She reached to ruffle his feathers, but before she could, a gruff voice behind her sent a shiver down her spine, the nasty words warping her heartbeat.

“Go back to Mexico!”

She shut her eyes and counted to ten.

Okay. She would simply ignore him.

“Mamí, _no entiendo. No estábamos en México. Estábamos en el parque._ ”

“ _Yo sé, pollito. Calle por un momento, ¿claro?_ ”

“I said shut up! Speak English or get out!”

Val closed her eyes again and reached for her belt.

Right. Her holster was empty.

She slowly turned around to face the roaring beast. “Why don’t you just mind your own business,” she snapped quietly. She was trying not to cause a scene, but everyone in the shop could still hear the ugliness of the turtle’s words. Why was no one doing anything? Saying anything?

“I am trying to mind own business, my Calisotan business, but you _wetbacks_ keep dirtying up my air! I can’t concentrate!”

“ _¿Por qué está enojado? ¿Y qué es un_ ‘wetback?’”

No. _No._ She would not allow the filth to contaminate her son. Valeria quickly raised her wings to cover his ears, but she was afraid the damage was already done. Frustrated and defeated, they ran away from the meanness, the awkwardness, the nothingness, all while the turtle slow-clapped curtly.

“Mamí --”

“Don’t go there. Ever. We can get ice cream somewhere else.” She wanted to just scream never mind. Because the nastiness would be somewhere else, too. Wherever he went, it would follow him.

“How come? Why was that _tortuga_ being mean to you? What’s a wetback?”

She exhaled and knelt, gripping his shoulders. “Fenton. You and I -- we are different here. You see how our feathers are darker than others?”

“Yes.”

“Well, some people don’t like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because they are ignorant. They think that the color of someone’s feathers or fur or scales determines what kind of person they are. But it does not. A person’s heart does that. Do you understand?”

He nodded. “But why? Why do they think that?”

She kissed him on the forehead and hugged him tightly. I don’t know. “I don’t know. But do not let it get you down.” She pulled away from him in order to make eye contact, in order to establish this foundation in his mind. “You and I, we are beautiful. Do not let _anyone_ tell you different, in any language.”

“ _Claro._ But I still don’t know what a wetback is.”

She sighed. “Fenton, please stop saying that. It is a very, very, very mean name for someone from México.”

“But we aren’t from Mexico. You’re from Cuba, and I was hatched here.”

“I know, baby, but some people don’t. And they aren’t willing to learn.”

He was very quiet.

Finally, he whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say a bad word.”

She kissed him again. “I know you didn’t. But you learned, and you apologized. That is the best we can hope for.” She stood up. “Do you still want that ice cream?”

“No, thanks. I’m not hungry anymore.”

They took each other’s wings and walked home in silence.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! As you can see, I put a few Spanish phrases in this work. Here are the translations, and please let me know if there's anything I missed!
> 
>  _¿Qué sabor del helado quieres, pollito?_ = What flavor ice cream do you want?  
>  _¡Quieres uno de frutilla!_ = I want a strawberry one!  
>  _...no entiendo. No estábamos en México. Estábamos en el parque._ = ...I don't understand. We weren't in Mexico. We were at the park.  
>  _Yo sé...Calle por un momento, ¿claro?_ = I know...Be quiet for a moment, okay?  
>  _¿Por qué está enojado? ¿Y qué es un_ = Why is he angry? And what is a...?  
>  _tortuga_ = turtle
> 
> Catch you in the next fic.


End file.
